Cruises a fun way to enjoy Long Island Sound

Scott Gargan, Connecticut Post

Scott Gargan, Correspondent

Published 11:42 am, Friday, July 23, 2010

A group of campers board the Norwalk Seaport Association's boat on a dock at the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk to cruise out to Sheffield Island in Norwalk, Conn. on Thursday July 15, 2010.
Photo: Kathleen O'Rourke

On a hot, breezy afternoon last week, the CJ Toth Quest sailed under the Washington Street drawbridge and out toward Norwalk Harbor, where the light of the afternoon sun flickered off the soft undulations of the rising tide.

As the engines churned and hiccuped, Capt. John Celentano introduced himself to the boat's 16 passengers -- "You all picked a great afternoon to join us," he said -- and the 50-foot Corinthian catamaran, a ferryboat, shoved off into the harbor.

"On a hot day like today, I thought going out on a cruise would be a lot of fun," said Lynn Szwaja, a Norwalk resident, who brought her brother, Joe and his wife, Debra, of Seattle, along for the ride. "I wanted to show them the pride of Norwalk."

With summer in full swing, residents across Fairfield County are hopping aboard ships and embarking on cruises from Greenwich to Stratford. Many are hoping to get away, if only for a couple of hours, from the bustling milieu of the Gold Coast and bask in the beauty of Long Island Sound.

"It's a wonderful experience," Celentano said as he pulled alongside the dock at Sheffield Island Lighthouse, where passengers can roam before returning to the harbor. "Every day I go out, I can't wait to cast off. You dry off really fast when the breeze hits you."

The Norwalk Seaport Association, which organizes the daily ferry rides, also hosts clambakes Thursday nights and bird-watching cruises through September.

For many people, a cruise on Long Island Sound is a convenient -- and in most cases, inexpensive -- way of escaping the summer humidity that bears down on Fairfield County. It's also a chance to break free of one of the country's busiest regions.

"When you go out there, you put your cell phone away, you don't think about your job," said Hilary Starks, a Stamford resident, of the trips aboard the 80-foot-tall ship owned by SoundWaters. "You can see Stamford, and the Trump (Parc) tower sticking out, but you feel like you're in a totally different place."

As the director of special events at SoundWaters, a nonprofit maritime education organization, Starks goes aboard twice a month during the summer, a benefit her fellow employees also enjoy. Guests can help hoist the sails and raise the trawl net on afternoon sails; or sit back and watch the sunset during evening sails.

"It's a really amazing experience," she added.

For others, charter voyages offer a unique opportunity to explore the rich maritime history of the Sound's coastal communities -- such as the once-thriving oyster industries in Norwalk and the staging grounds for Revolutionary War-era raids in Bridgeport.

At Captain's Cove Seaport and Marina, the Chief, a 40-foot Navy launch, takes visitors on tours of Bridgeport's Black Rock Harbor and Black Rock and Penfield lighthouses. It was in these locales that George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army, organized espionage and smuggling operations after the fall of New York City to the British in 1776.

"This was Washington's only contact because he had lost New York," said Kaye Williams, 81, the owner of Captain's Cove for nearly three decades. "They would run to Long Island to steal."

Asked whether he had any plans to retire in the near future, Williams said: "I'm going to hang here until they take me out. That's how much I love it."

Though it was Szwaja's first time on the Sheffield Island cruise, it was a sentiment she understood. As Celentano pulled the CJ Toth Quest back under the drawbridge, the crew mooring the ferry to the dock, Szwaja looked toward Sheffield Island and smiled.

"The air was cool, the harbor was beautiful and it was great to take in all this history," Szwaja said. "It was a really relaxing ride."

- The Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Steamboat Co.: One hour and 15 minute trips across Long Island Sound to Port Jefferson, N.Y., departs from the pier on Ferry Access Road, Bridgeport. Call 631-473-0286, or go to www.bpjferry.com.

- Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk: Marine Life Study Cruises on the research vessel R.V. Oceanic provides up-close, hands-on look at marine life -- fish, crabs, skates, lobsters and plankton -- living in Long Island Sound. Departs from the dock near the Aquarium's IMAX Theater entrance, 10 N. Water St. Call 203-852-0700, or visit www.maritimeaquarium.org.